As communication service providers (CSPs) push AI deeper into their organizations, transformation is no longer just an IT concern; it’s a mandate for network leaders, architects and software engineers.
A recent TM Forum survey of more than 200 IT executives at 117 operators makes the stakes clear: One in three respondents cited Open Digital Architecture (ODA) as the core guiding principle for their IT transformation, while more than half have already embedded ODA elements within their broader transformation program.
In other words, ODA is no longer a “nice to have” modernization framework, it has become the foundation that allows CSPs to industrialize AI, connect it safely into complex legacy environments and build the next generation of digital telco platforms.
ODA supports CSPs in scaling AI safely and sustainably — from experimentation to production — enabling trusted, governed and interoperable AI at the heart of digital operations.
Three projects that could unlock hundreds of billions in industry value
At Mobile World Congress 2026, TM Forum launched the telco industry’s first AI-native blueprint: three projects designed to enable unprecedented scaling of AI across core operations by operationalizing ODA for the AI-native era:
- Model as a Service (MODaaS) defines how CSPs can source, operate and scale multiple AI models as enterprise-grade services across cloud, edge and on-premises environments.
- Data Product Lifecycle Management enables CSPs to move from fragmented data initiatives to discoverable, governed data products that AI agents can safely access without human intervention.
- Agentic Interactions Security delivers a common policy language and ontology for governance and assurance at scale, in machine-readable format, without a human in the loop.
All three projects support the open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) within ODA components, allowing AI models to connect with external data sources, tools and applications, leveraging telecommunications intent models and ontologies to ensure interoperability across the ecosystem. In doing so, they extend ODA from an architectural “blueprint” into a working AI-native framework: models, data products and agentic interactions all part of the ODA foundation.
“AI will only deliver real business impact when it is trusted to be deployed at scale, requiring the same rigor as any other critical network or IT service,” said Guy Lupo, EVP, AI and Data at TM Forum. “By introducing these first three core projects under the AI-native Blueprint, we are arming the industry with a critical common foundation to move beyond experimentation and operate AI as a reliable, governable engine for growth and long-term value.”
From IT transformation to reinvention
For a decade, CSPs have pursued IT transformation centered on digitization and modernization. That era is over. Generative and agentic AI are forcing something more fundamental: reinvention. This will enable organizations to move faster, operate more securely and generate new revenue streams rather than simply optimizing for efficiency. This shift cannot be delivered by point solutions or isolated pilots; it relies on the industry corralling around a stable architectural backbone, such as TM Forum’s ODA, that enables CSPs to redesign how they operate, innovate and serve customers.
TM Forum's ODA is the “true north” for this new wave. “We are no longer just supporting the business; we are reinventing it,” said Willie Stegmann, EVP, Composable IT & Ecosystems, TM Forum. “The CIO must lead and shape this journey, exploiting adjacent growth opportunities and driving intelligent, automated customer engagement.”
The imperative extends beyond IT. “The future of the enterprise depends on IT's ability to enable new revenue streams and deliver faster, cheaper and smarter operations,” Stegmann added.
Seen through an AI-native lens, ODA becomes the enterprise-wide reference model that lets CIOs and CTOs align business reinvention, network evolution and IT modernization around a single, composable architecture.
Architecting AI-enabled, autonomous networks at scale
TM Forum's ODA roadmap charts a clear path from manual operations to autonomous, AI-enabled networks and IT systems, improving performance, reliability and customer experience while opening new revenue streams. By defining standardized components, APIs and data models, ODA provides the structural foundation that autonomous networks and AI-native operations depend on.
At Accelerate 2026 in Lisbon this past February, CSPs and vendors collaboratively spent four days applying the ODA roadmap to AI-driven automation across IT and networks. Participants made significant progress on Project Foundation, a collaborative, secure environment where CSPs, hyperscalers and technology partners co-develop, integrate and test interoperable AI agents aligned with TM Forum's AI-native Blueprint. The event produced a tangible demonstration of the business value of autonomous networks, with ODA as the shared foundation that connects AI agents, operations platforms and network domains into a coherent, automated whole.
In practice, this means CSPs can evolve from siloed automation scripts and domain-specific tools to end-to-end, ODA-based architectures where AI orchestrates resources and experiences dynamically across the entire estate.
A common language for network, software and operations teams
Perhaps the AI-native Blueprint's most underappreciated contribution is organizational: it gives network, software and operations teams a shared language and framework for AI adoption.
The Blueprint supports every layer of the organization — enabling strategic planners to assess readiness, architects to design AI-native systems, operations teams to embed trusted automation and compliance teams to ensure governance by design. By harmonizing data, agentic AI, AIOps and security into one cohesive framework, it breaks down silos, reduces technology debt and makes AI adoption more predictable, transparent and impactful. AI-driven operations, with ODA acting as the underlying foundation, keep everything interoperable.
For CSPs, this means that “AI-native” is not a separate initiative but a natural evolution of their ODA journey, with the same architectural language but extended to include the new AI capabilities and operating models.
Addressing network complexity to deliver a platform for innovation
Network complexity remains one of the most stubborn barriers to CSP competitiveness. ODA directly addresses this by simplifying IT and network systems, enabling CSPs to evolve from traditional operators to platform-ready digital telcos capable of continuous innovation and differentiated service delivery.
The industry's confidence in ODA is reflected in its adoption: as of 2026, 18 CSPs representing over two billion subscribers have achieved "Running on ODA" accreditation, cementing its role as the industry standard for taming IT and network complexity at scale.
As CSPs look ahead, those that embrace ODA as the foundation for AI-native transformation will be best placed to turn today’s experimentation into tomorrow’s growth.
At DTW Ignite 2026, in the TM Forum Industry Stage we will not only be showcasing how ODA has become the foundation for AI-native transformation but also, in our ‘show the code’ area, our members will be demonstrating how we have transformed the theoretical AI-native blueprint into real-world 5G slicing and Fault management solutions using the as a ODA foundation. This is revolutionary for the telecom industry, as it enables communication service providers (CSPs) to scale Trustworthy AI, safely and with governance within complex legacy systems.